Perhaps more than any other mental illness, schizophrenia is poorly understood. This lack of knowledge can breed fear and misconceptions about the condition.

Schizophrenia
is a highly stigmatized and misunderstood condition. This stigma can make an
already difficult life harder for those with schizophrenia by lowering their
quality of life and interfering with their ability to get a job or the
treatment they need. Working to overcome others’ misconceptions often becomes part
of successfully living with schizophrenia.

Three Misconceptions About Schizophrenia

Misconception 1:
People with schizophrenia are violent. “To a small degree, this is true,” says
John Wilson, MD, a psychiatrist with the Fairfax-Falls Church Community
Services Board in Virginia. But he emphasizes that the rate of violence in people
with schizophrenia is just slightly elevated, and it’s much more likely that
they’ll be victims of violence, not the perpetrators.

Much
of the stigma of violence comes from entertainment and news media, which links
cases of random violent acts against strangers with mental illnesses like
schizophrenia, says Krista Baker, a licensed clinical professional counselor
and supervisor of the Early Psychosis Intervention Clinic at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore.

With
schizophrenia, people often develop paranoia and hear voices. They may believe
the government is out to get them and assume what Dr. Wilson describes as “bizarre
delusional superpowers,” insisting that the president of the United States or
some other important figure is talking to them. A person with schizophrenia may
not make sense when they speak, Wilson says, explaining that this behavior can
instill fear in others and cause them to back away.

Misconception 2:
People with schizophrenia can’t work. People may believe that people with
schizophrenia are incapable of holding a job, because they are unpredictable,
unable to focus, or lazy. If potential employers learn of the disease, they may
be less likely to hire a job candidate, although Wilson notes that it’s illegal
for employers to ask about a person’s medical history. “If individuals don’t
reveal they have schizophrenia, in theory it shouldn’t be an issue,” he says.

Misconception 3:
Schizophrenia is not treatable. While there’s no cure for
schizophrenia, medications can treat the symptoms, Wilson says. And though none
of the medications available work all the time, they work most of the time and
often quite well.

For
those with schizophrenia, staying on medication is essential. The National
Alliance on Mental Illness reports that as many as half of the people diagnosed
with schizophrenia have positive outcomes when they receive appropriate
treatment. People with schizophrenia can help themselves and others by adhering
to their treatment plans, Wilson says. With treatment, fewer people with
schizophrenia may exhibit symptoms that add to the stigma of the disease.

Fighting the Schizophrenia
Stigma

Baker
sees the stigma as a double-edged sword. “To fight the stigma, you have to talk
about it,” she says. “And then there’s the backlash.”

She
describes the people who speak up about their schizophrenia diagnosis as heroic,
saying it makes a difference when you can associate a face with the condition.
Through education, she notes, the public may someday come to understand that people
with schizophrenia can live and function normally with the right treatment and
medication.

People
who don’t want to speak out on their own might find the courage to do so
through a group, Baker says, recalling a Maryland Senate hearing where 80 or
more people, including many with schizophrenia, spoke up about the condition. “A lot of people spoke of their personal
experience,” she says. Family members also can help by speaking out. Talk with
your doctor about finding a support or advocacy group for those with
schizophrenia or their loved ones.

“If
we continue to speak out, educate the public on what schizophrenia is and isn’t,
and connect faces to the illness, we may move past the stigma,” says Baker.

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